Under government distribution system, $1.5b+ of grain rots while Indian children starve - Polidicks

[quote] NEW DELHI — Every day some 3,000 Indian children die from illnesses related to malnutrition, and yet countless heaps of rodent-infested wheat and rice are rotting in fields across the north of their own country. It is an extraordinary paradox created by a rigid regime of subsidies for grain farmers, a woeful lack of storage facilities and an inefficient, corruption-plagued public distribution system that fails millions of impoverished people. And it is an embarrassment for the government led by the Congress party, which returned to power in 2009 thanks in large part to pledges of welfare for the poor, who make up about 40 percent of the 1.2 billion population. Quite why the authorities could not simply offload the mountains of grain for free to fill empty stomachs is puzzling, but the explanation lies in the complex regulations that govern procurement and distribution. "This is a case of criminal neglect by the government," said D. Raja, national secretary of the Communist Party of India, an opposition group. "The ruling party has been the worst manager of the demand-supply of food grains." Officials say that, in all, about 6 million tons of grain worth at least $1.5 billion could perish. Analysts say the losses could be far higher because more than 19 million tons are now lying in the open, exposed to searing summer heat and monsoon rains. [/quote] [url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48039343/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/#.T_Ha_rWe5Ak[/url] Good thing the government was looking out for them with all those regulations

Goddamn.

You know what you're right, they should privatize the distribution of grain, charge those little starving fuckers for a profit yeeeeeeeeaaaaah

-snip-? For some reason I thought they were a democratic nation.

It's sad how India is trying so hard to be a first world country.

[QUOTE=Daniel Smith;36593253]It's sad how India is trying so hard to be a first world country.[/QUOTE] Too bad trying isn't good enough when people's lives are in your hands.

[QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;36593197]You know what you're right, they should privatize the distribution of grain, charge those little starving fuckers for a profit yeeeeeeeeaaaaah[/QUOTE] Or maybe they wouldn't be so careless with the resources when their own money is on the line as opposed to wasting other people's tax dollars, and the food will actually make it into people's mouths instead of going rotten.

To be fair, tons and tons of food go to waste in the US too under our system. Food distribution is a race against time. The world grows more than enough food to feed every mouth on the planet. It's just that a large part of it goes to waste before it can be used.

[QUOTE=Abrown516;36593223]India is still run under regime? For some reason I thought they were a democratic nation.[/QUOTE] What?

This shit happens all the time, when farmers get a great yield they often don't put it on the market and just let it decay because the price for grain would go down otherwise

-snip- irrelevant due to new info

[QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;36593197]You know what you're right, they should privatize the distribution of grain, charge those little starving fuckers for a profit yeeeeeeeeaaaaah[/QUOTE] If it weren't for the government, those people wouldn't be starving because invisible hand bootstraps free market.

[QUOTE=Mingebox;36594737]If it weren't for the government, those people wouldn't be starving because invisible hand bootstraps free market.[/QUOTE] Yeah seriously Noble you are honestly going to chalk this up to government inefficency rather than farmers attempting to keep prices raised?

India has about 3,000 kids starving to death every day? Goddamn, that sounds like a recipe for disaster. That's no way for the country's leaders to curry favor with the people.

[QUOTE=Noble;36593310]Or maybe they wouldn't be so careless with the resources when their own money is on the line as opposed to wasting other people's tax dollars, and the food will actually make it into people's mouths instead of going rotten.[/QUOTE] FREE MARKETS SOLVE EVERYTHING!!!!! because people who are seeking to earn money will always provide better than a government seeking to... uh OPPRESS!!!

[QUOTE=Cloak Raider;36595774]FREE MARKETS SOLVE EVERYTHING!!!!! because people who are seeking to earn money will always provide better than a government seeking to... uh OPPRESS!!![/QUOTE] To be fair, when it comes to sheer efficiency distributed private systems seem to beat centralized government systems most of the time. Unless I'm statistically wrong, in which case please disregard this. Not to say that the private sector can't fuck up massively, especially when they decide to cut corners.

[QUOTE=froztshock;36595876]To be fair, when it comes to sheer efficiency distributed private systems seem to beat centralized government systems most of the time. Unless I'm statistically wrong, in which case please disregard this. Not to say that the private sector can't fuck up massively, especially when they decide to cut corners.[/QUOTE] that might be right when there is money on the line. but these people are starving because they are poor. I can't imagine the private sector is going to jump out of their seats to save some people who have basically nothing

Happens here in the US too, not on quite a scale though. [QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;36595698]India has about 3,000 kids starving to death every day? Goddamn, that sounds like a recipe for disaster. That's no way for the country's leaders to curry favor with the people.[/QUOTE] hahaha

[QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;36595057]Yeah seriously Noble you are honestly going to chalk this up to government inefficency rather than farmers attempting to keep prices raised?[/QUOTE] This is out of the article but I didn't have it included in the OP [quote]At another dump, on the outskirts of Punjab's Amritsar city, locals told Reuters that officials sometimes dip into the sacks of rotting grain to mix it with fresh wheat for distribution to the poor who hold ration cards. In India the government buys rice and wheat from farmers at a guaranteed price, a support system akin to the subsidies that led to Europe's notorious butter mountains and milk lakes. The government has raised the price it pays to buy wheat by more than 70 percent since 2007, which only encourages more production. As a result, stocks are now at an all-time high of about 50 million tons, 12 times more than the official target. [/quote] [url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48039343/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/#.T_Ha_rWe5Ak[/url]

[QUOTE=Noble;36596174]This is out of the article but I didn't have it included in the OP [url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48039343/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/#.T_Ha_rWe5Ak[/url][/QUOTE] This is exactly the problem with central planning. You can make the rice but you have to be considerate enough to make the trucks to haul the rice otherwise you got 1.5b of rotten grain.

why are people rating dumb here this is a clearcut case where central planning fails. the idea made a prediction (that it would be more efficient than letting private companies do it) and it was falsified. [editline]2nd July 2012[/editline] don't they teach the scientific method? [editline]3rd July 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Cloak Raider;36596032]I can't imagine the private sector is going to jump out of their seats to save some people who have basically nothing[/QUOTE] yeah it's not as though a frequent criticism of corporations is that they put local traders out of business with their cheaper pricing [img]http://sae.tweek.us/static/images/emoticons/emot-rolleye.gif[/img]

[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;36596935]why are people rating dumb here this is a clearcut case where central planning fails. the idea made a prediction (that it would be more efficient than letting private companies do it) and it was falsified. [/QUOTE] That's like saying a plane crash is proof that planes don't work.

[QUOTE=Mingebox;36597104]That's like saying a plane crash is proof that planes don't work.[/QUOTE] obviously not, but it kind of suggests "hey maybe we fucked up something and should learn from this experience, perhaps use a different method of flying" if it was a one-off event then sure, accidents happen, but if it fucked up systematically and often (like the situation described in the OP) it's a sign you're using the wrong system

Oh yes noble, I'm sure the private sector would just be throwing the grain at poor people, because they're known for being generous like that.

It is not the idea of regulation by the government that caused this. This was the result of a corrupt government doing what corrupt governments tend to do.

[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;36596935]why are people rating dumb here this is a clearcut case where central planning fails. the idea made a prediction (that it would be more efficient than letting private companies do it) and it was falsified. [editline]2nd July 2012[/editline] don't they teach the scientific method? [editline]3rd July 2012[/editline] yeah it's not as though a frequent criticism of corporations is that they put local traders out of business with their cheaper pricing [IMG]http://sae.tweek.us/static/images/emoticons/emot-rolleye.gif[/IMG][/QUOTE] i'm gonna go ahead and say that these kids aren't starving to death because the government is stopping corporations GOD BLESS THEM from delivering HOLY CAPITALISM, but because they don't actually have any fucking money unless they're setting their price point to fucking zilch, have fun believing that the free market would have saved these kids!!!! [editline]3rd July 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Disgruntled;36597536]It is not the idea of regulation by the government that caused this. This was the result of a corrupt government doing what corrupt governments tend to do.[/QUOTE] no way man, it's much easier to say it was because of the idea of government, and the idea of regulation that these people starved, and not actually read the article that it was corruption and a lack of storage fucking it all up.

[QUOTE=Cloak Raider;36598543]i'm gonna go ahead and say that these kids aren't starving to death because the government is stopping corporations GOD BLESS THEM from delivering HOLY CAPITALISM, but because they don't actually have any fucking money unless they're setting their price point to fucking zilch, have fun believing that the free market would have saved these kids!!!! [editline]3rd July 2012[/editline] no way man, it's much easier to say it was because of the idea of government, and the idea of regulation that these people starved, and not actually read the article that it was corruption and a lack of storage fucking it all up.[/QUOTE] [quote]The government has raised the price it pays to buy wheat by more than 70 percent since 2007, which only encourages more production. As a result, stocks are now at an all-time high of about 50 million tons, 12 times more than the official target. "It's related to pure economic security for the farmers," said Purnima Menon, a research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in New Delhi. "They make a safe choice of crops."[/quote] Sounds like a textbook case of central planning failing to me.

[QUOTE=Fenderson;36598914]Sounds like a textbook case of central planning failing to me.[/QUOTE] sure but that isn't then an excuse to say that it being privatised would be better, and that regulations should be thrown out, you're a fool if you think it is it's a reason to say the government is incompetent and corrupt or what conscript said

[QUOTE=Fenderson;36598914]Sounds like a textbook case of central planning failing to me.[/QUOTE] How the hell does India have central planning? I know you free marketeers like to call anything that involves government investment 'socialism', but now you're bordering on nonsense.

[QUOTE=Cloak Raider;36598983]sure but that isn't then an excuse to say that it being privatised would be better, and that regulations should be thrown out, you're a fool if you think it is it's a reason to say the government is incompetent and corrupt[/QUOTE] Privatization is always better. It creates competition which in turn lowers prices for things like rice. [quote]How the hell does India have central planning? I know you free marketeers like to call anything that involves government investment 'socialism', but now you're bordering on nonsense.[/quote] goovarnment rice moonopolie